His response came immediately.On it.
“Hunt,” I said. “Gather the most loyal people we have. Wolves we can trust to keep their mouths shut. Form three search teams.”
“How many per team?”
“Five. Our best trackers only. Have them meet here in twenty minutes.”
Hunt nodded and disappeared out the door, already pulling out his phone to make calls.
I turned to Cole. He still stood in the middle of the nursery, looking lost. I’d never seen him this broken. Not even after Blakedied. This was different. This was his son. His child. The one good thing that had come from his mistake with Mary.
“We’ll find him,” I repeated.
“What if we don’t? What if she hurts him? What if she’s using him as leverage for something and we can’t give her what she wants?” His voice climbed higher with each question.
“Cole. Look at me.”
He turned, eyes wild.
“We will find Thomas. I promise you. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. We will bring your son home.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I just did.” And I meant it. Even if I had to burn down every pack territory between here and the coast.
Hunt returned fifteen minutes later with fifteen wolves, all of them people I’d trust with my life. The best trackers in the pack. Loyal pack members who would die before betraying us. They gathered in the living room while I explained the situation.
“Mary Thorne has escaped with her infant son. This information does not leave this group. If anyone asks, you’re on a training exercise. Nothing more.” I met each of their eyes, letting my alpha authority press against them. “You’re going to track her scent. Find any trail she left. Report back to me the second you find something.”
Hunt divided them into three teams and sent each one to grab a piece of Mary’s clothing to track her scent. They scatteredin different directions within minutes, moving fast and silent through the woods.
Cole stood at the window, watching them go. “I want to go with them.”
I’d known he would ask. Part of me wanted to say no. Wanted to keep him here where I could watch him. Where I knew he wouldn’t do something stupid in his desperation to find his son. But I also knew what it felt like to be helpless. To have someone you loved in danger while you did nothing.
“Go,” I said.
He turned, surprise clear on his face. “What?”
“Go. Find your son. But check in with me daily. I need to know you’re safe.”
“Knox, I...”
“Don’t thank me. Just bring Thomas home.”
He nodded once and bolted out the door without another word. Hunt watched him go with a concerned expression.
“He’s going to do something stupid,” Hunt said.
“Probably.”
“Want me to follow him?”
“No. I need you here. Someone has to help Noah run things while I figure out what the fuck is happening.”
Hunt nodded slowly. “What are you going to tell Lina?”
That stopped me. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. My first instinct was to tell her everything. To share the burden the way mates should. But she was seven months pregnant. Stressed. Already dealing with too much.
